The new girl
by wolffeather
Summary: Summary inside. This is not general. I put general. This is actually Angst Supernatural Romance Horror. NOT A SLASH
1. It started with a nightmare

Full summery:

It's been four years since Zim died. Dib is now fourteen and starting high school. And there's a new girl at school: Auri Sanguinarius. Is she just another "crazy" fourteen-year-old like Dib? Or is she something a little more…dangerous?

Rated for violence and a kiss somewhere.

This is not general. I put general. This is actually Angst/Supernatural/Romance/Horror.

Disclaimer: I do not own Invader Zim. Also, I'm borrowing ideas from my favorite author Amelia Atwater-Rhodes…SO DON'T SUE ME!

A/N: this is random, but I'm very proud of the titles of each chapter.

Chapter 1: It begins with a nightmare

_Dib fell onto his back. Above him a pair of glowing red eyes watched him. Dib pushed the invisible owner away and got to his feet. A mouth appeared under those piercing eyes. It laughed evilly, insanely. Tormenting him, mocking him._

_Finally Zim emerged from the darkness, with said eyes and mouth that had stopped laughing. He took a laser gun from behind his back and grinned at Dib's terrified expression. Dib could not protect himself; he had no weapon to fight with. _

_He could only run._

_And that is what he did._

_Zim didn't chase the boy, but cocked his gun and pulled the trigger. A purple growing ball of energy escaped from the gun's mouth and followed Dib. Dib continued to run down the endless, dark road. The shot hit him square on the back, causing him to fall on his face._

_Dib rose up, holding a gun that had appeared out nowhere. His grin matched Zim's as he spun around and shot._

_The gunfire was extremely loud. It pierced through Zim's body, right through his major organ._

"_Ahh!" cried Zim._

_The gun fell to the ground._

_Zim looked at Dib, eyes full of hatred. _

_The Irken then fell next to his gun, with the same amount of life as the small, dead machine._

---

"Ow."

Dib struggled. He felt like he was tied up and he couldn't see in the blackness. He fought.

Wait. Was that the alarm clock?

Dib realized he had just woken up from a dream, and had fallen out of bed. He got out of his blanket and shut off his annoying alarm clock. He took his glasses from the nightstand and put them on. He blinked, and then looked to the right, into the mirror that hung on the wall.

This Dib was different from the dream Dib. He was older, four years to be exact. His glasses were a lot less dorky-looking; his hair was a lot longer (that one long part was as high as ever). He had learned a lot in four years. The world was stupid. Did it deserve to be saved by him? Had they even cared he had?

Dib shook his head. It didn't matter. Everyone deserved life. Everyone deserves a chance.

Including him.

Dib sighed and walked into the bathroom.

---

A little while later, Dib entered the living room; showered, dressed, and ready to go.

"Morning Gaz." He said. Her sister was sitting on the couch.

"Morning." She said, not looking up. She was playing her Game Slave 5. She paused the game and looked at her brother.

"Hey, are you okay?"

"Fine."

"Bad nights sleep?"

"Maybe."

"You didn't have that nightmare again…"

"No."

"You can't be upset about his death. He was evil."

"I've never killed anyone before; evil or not."

_Beep, beep!_ Went the school buses horn.

"Gotta run!" He picked up his backpack and headed out the door.

"Good luck on your first day of high school!" Gaz called out to him. Once out of earshot, she said to herself: "He's gonna get eaten alive." And continued to play her game.

---

A/N: I think she is younger than Dib, so I have her going to middle school. The middle school bus leaves later than the High school bus.

---


	2. Introductions

thanks for the review. Note: I will not put the next chapter until I get two reviews.

Chapter 2: Introductions

Dib stared out the window of the second floor classroom. He had arrived early to his first class, everyone else was either lost or chatting with friends. He couldn't even go torture Zim. Dib had taken the first seat in the last row. He watched people enter by their reflection on the glass. Soon the class was full, absent one teacher. No one sat behind him, and the one person sitting on his left looked like she'd sit anywhere else, if all the other seats hadn't been taken.

The bell rang. No one noticed.

Dib took out a notebook and doodled a werebat/vampire thing. He was used to this, the kids ignored and avoided him, and the adults (teacher) didn't care about them.

A girl appeared in the doorway. She was panting, one hand on the wall. The freshman wore a black t-shirt that read, "The villagers are coming with torches and pitch forks (below:) Please hide me," in white letters. The hem of her long shirt stretched down to the hips of her blue jeans. Dib noticed she wore men's boots.

"Sorry, I'm late." She said to the floor. "I got los-" she looked up and realized the teacher she was trying to give an alibi to was not there. Her classmates continued to ignore her.

She un-squared her shoulders, stopped fake panting, and walked calmly to sit behind Dib.

Dib hesitated. New girl (had to be, Dib knew all the kids in the school); didn't know he was "crazy".

Dib spun in his seat. "Hi." He held out his hand.

The girl looked up from her desk. "Hi."

Dib dropped his hand, as he realized she would not shake it. "I'm Dib. And you are…?"

"Auri." Auri digged in her backpack for a binder and a pencil.

"Settle down students." Came a familiar voice. Everyone looked to the classroom entrance. Ms. Bitters walked inside.

Dib raised his hand. Without waiting to be called on, he said "Don't you teach fifth grade?"

"I used to." Drawled on the teacher in a creepy voice. She glided behind the desk at the front of the classroom. "The school board said I 'scare little children', or something like that."

Auri leaned forward and whispered in Dib's ear. "What about scaring us?" Dib chuckled, partly nervous because her breath was on his ear.

---

Auri sat at the end of a rectangular table in the corner of the cafeteria. The rest of the kids at that table were talking to each other.

Dib walked in with his lunch, looking around for somewhere to sit. He spotted Auri sitting "alone". He put his tray opposite her.

The clang of the tray made the kids look up at him. They quickly got up and spread out to different tables.

"Thanks." Said Auri, still staring at her food, "They were starting to get annoying."

Dib took this as an invitation to sit. She looked up. "There aren't any other seats in here?"

"I-I'm Sorry." Dib got up quickly, feeling embarrassed. "I just figured that I was sitting alone, and you were sitting alone, and that we could just sit alone together," he said in one breath, knowing how stupid it sounded.

"Sit down. I just thought there were no other seats, since you went and sat with me."

Dib sat down, no longer embarrassed but confused. He watched her poke her lunch with a plastic fork. "You gonna eat that?"

"I don't need to." She muttered.

"Hmm?" he asked, a piece of spaghetti hanging out of his mouth.

She ignored him, but stabbed harder. A painful memory shot up in Dib's mind and he held her hand to make her stop. Auri looked up questioningly.

"Don't do that."

"Why not?"

"Reminds me of something. Bad images…"

"Sorry."

Dib looked down to his lunch and noticed he was still had her hand in his. He turned red for a second and took his hand back.

---


	3. Do the insane know they're insane?

Would someone review please?

Chapter 3: Do the insane know they're insane?

That night Dib lay awake in bed. He watched his bare ceiling. His glasses reflected a bit of streetlight light on the wall from their nightstand perch.

A couple of things were on his mind. Why was he upset with Zim's death? He had died years ago, but the memory was sprouting up now of all times. It wasn't that Dib felt sorry for Zim. Zim was evil. Insane too. But Dib had taken something from him, something he himself wanted. But what Zim wanted would have cost earth.

Zim wanted respect. If he had captured earth he would have probably gained that admiration from his leaders, the Tallest. He could have taken any planet for that matter. But Dib had killed him and took away any chance of that.

Any chance of getting respect.

The kind everyone deserves.

Including Dib, who'd give almost anything for it.

Auri, too, was invading his thoughts. Dib needed a friend. He had no one, no one in his life who cared. Not his idiotic-yet-brilliant dad. His sister cared a little, but not at the level where it was reassuring. The school kids…did he even want to be friends with them? But Auri, Auri might understand.

Dib was trying to figure her out from first impressions. She was a loner. She hadn't tried to make one friend. But she could just be shy, waiting for people to make the first move.

Like him?

She hadn't shooed him away, that was a good sign wasn't it?

Dib gulped. Sure, he could make friends with her. How? By mimicking the other kids. But would that truly be a friendship, one based on lies?

He admitted to himself that he had a crush on her. He had had a crush on Tak too. It meant nothing, and would go away.

Wouldn't it?

---

Dib drifted off to sleep…

_Dib opened his eyes, as if waking from a long period of unconsciousness. He was sitting and tried to rise, but something held him back. Rope. He was tied to a pole behind him. No…it was a tree, because now he saw grass below him._

_Auri stood in front of him. Dib tried to speak, to ask what was going on, but no sound came out. She stood there, in her men's boots, twirling a knife in her hands. Dib felt that she wasn't going to use it to cut the rope…_

_Without warning Auri ran toward him. Dib closed his eyes, unable to dodge her._

Slink,_ went the sound a knife sinking into something. Confused, Dib opened his eyes._

_The knife handle stuck out of the tree's bark, only inches from his head. He looked to his "attacker". She was kneeling in front of him, her face not far from his. Dib's heart beat loudly in his chest. He continued watching her watch him. _

_Auri surged forward and kissed him. Surprised, he kissed back._

_Then she separated from him, got up, and took a few steps back. She smiled, bearing pointed fangs, and laughed. Then she disappeared._

---

_Beep, beep, beeeeeeeeep…_

Dib's hand fell on his alarm clock.

He groaned.

How had he gotten to sleep last night?

What did that dream mean?

Where'd he put his glasses last night?


	4. Coincidence?

Uh, is anyone reading? Hello?

Chapter 4: Coincidence?

Dib sat in his first period class, waiting for Auri to come in. He wanted to ask her for her phone number, or Instant Message name. Again the teacher was not there yet. Dib rested his head on his desk.

"Did you hear about that girl who died out by McDonalds?" He heard from behind him. He tilted his head and continued to listen.

"Car crash?" said a different person.

"Nope. She was on the sidewalk."

"What happened?"

"One of the employees found her, just lying there."

"Hit and run." Said someone.

"No injuries. She was just laying there, pail as snow. The only mark was a small bite in her wrist. Like from a dog or something."

"So, how'd she die?"

"Loss of blood. Whatever bit her opened the artery. Weird, though, there was no blood around her. She hadn't bled to death. More liked she was drained."

"Great," said a female voice, "Now there's some psycho on the loose draining blood from people."

Auri entered and sat in her seat behind Dib.

Dib spun in his seat, temporarily forgetting the conversation he had overheard. "Auri?" she looked up, "I wanted to ask-"

"Look, Dib is hitting on the new girl!" One of the kids said. The class laughed. Dib blushed and faced front again. He heard them continuing to laugh behind him, but they suddenly stopped. Dib looked to the doorway, thinking that the teacher had finally entered, but there was no one there.

Still, the room had gotten eerily quiet.

---

Dib and Auri had a table to themselves again at lunch. Auri was being quiet today, deep in thought. Dib wanted to try starting a conversation, desperate to get that dream out of his mind.

"You're new, right?" He asked, feeling stupid.

"Emm-hmm."

"Where you from?"

"LA."

"Really?"

"Emm-hmmm." She repeated.

"Ever been to Hollywood?"

"Once or twice." She smiled, still looking off to the side, as if reliving a good memory.

Dib gave up, she just wasn't paying attention. Well, if she wasn't going to give any information, he'll just have to google her. "What's your last name?"

---

Dib typed in "Auri Sanguinarius" into the search bar. Many things came up, but nothing in English. They looked Latin. He logged off of AOL and rolled away from his computer. He got out of his chair and searched the bookcase.

"Ah-ha!" He had found his Latin to English dictionary. He flipped the pages until coming on the word "Sanguinārius". The entry read "_adj _Bloodthirsty." Dib wondered about a coincidence, but what had he learned from his paranormal studies?

Bloodthirsty. The word vampire came to mind.

And there was that girl by McDonalds.

Coincidence? Not even in his vocabulary.

---


	5. You, FEAR THE GARLIC!

Chapter 5: You, FEAR THE GARLIC!

The next day was Saturday, and Dib spend most of the morning gathering things; Garlic bulbs from the grocery store, a cross and an old wire birdcage from the thrift shop. Then he returned home and got back on the Internet. Auri was on (he had finally gotten her screen name yesterday).

He sent her an IM.

ShadowHunter333: Hi.

DarkSideoftheSun13: Hey dude. What's up?

ShadowHunter333: Can you meet me at the park?

DarkSideoftheSun13: Why?

ShadowHunter333: Do you know where it is?

DarkSideoftheSun13: Yeah, I've seen it. Any particular reason?

ShadowHunter333: No.

DarkSideoftheSun13: When?

ShadowHunter333: 10min?

DarkSideoftheSun13: I'll be there.

ShadowHunter333: Cool. See you.

ShadowHunter333 has signed off

Dib grabbed his backpack and headed out the door.

---

Dib arrived at the park and chained his bike to the link-chain fence that surrounded the park. He realized he forgot to tell her _where _in the park to meet up. He then noticed a figure, half black and half blue. The figure was at the swings, swinging back and forth. He walked to her.

She didn't seem to realize he had walked up behind her. Finding this a golden opportunity to test what he wanted to, he silently took out the garlic and held it behind her back.

He waited a few seconds.

"Dib, why are holding garlic behind me?"

Dib dropped the garlic, "How'd you know it was me?" he walked around to her.

"Who else would do something weird like that?" she smiled. "So what's with the garlic anyway? Expecting to meet up with a vampire or just had a strong craving?"

He shrugged.

She laughed. He just looked at her, confused. "You translated my surname, didn't you?" He nodded. "What else you got in that backpack?" He handed it to her. "Hmm," she searched through it. "A cross…and, what's this, a bird cage? Want to trap me in my bat form, do you?"

He then laughed. "Kind of stupid?"

"Really stupid." She agreed. She pointed to the sky. It was cloudless and the summer sun was beating down on them "Vampires can't stand the sun. Why would I come to a park with a bright sun if I was a vampire?"

He laughed at himself, and then took the swing to her left. "So," she said, "What's got you all 'vampire hunter' all of a sudden?"

"It's not really all of a sudden."

"Made a career out of it?"

"Not yet."

"You're gonna be a vampire hunter when you grow up?"

"Paranormal investigator." He corrected.

Auri swung a little, forward and back, until she seemed tired of it, or feeling that she wasn't fooling Dib with her stalling.

"You know the first rule to being a paranormal investigator?"

"Have the right equipment?"

"Be a skeptic."

"I don't follow." He said slowly.

"Be a skeptic," she repeated. "You have to look at the rational explanation first; like that one case, where things moved themselves. Turned out to be an electro-magnetic field."

"I guess you're right. But…what about that girl"

"What girl?"

"The one who died by McDonalds, didn't you hear?"

"No…"

"She was drained of blood."

"And you're going to tell me there were two holes in her neck?"

"There was an open wound on her wrist."

"No wonder you're known as 'the crazy kid'" He looked offended. "Don't worry, the crazy ones are the most interesting." She got up. "I have to get home, my parents said not to stay out too long."

"Okay, see you."

"Bye."

She left.

---

Dib locked his bike to the fence in front of his house. He stood in front of the door for a few seconds, searching his pockets from his keys. Upon finding them he dropped the ring of keys. Grumbling, he bent over to pick them up.

Next to his keys, on the welcome mat, was a long stemmed black rose. He looked in the card attached, expecting to find "To Gaz," but instead found his own name.

The other side of the card had a message written in cramped writing, it read:

_Yes, it's a black rose. I've sent you an email; please place the rose on your bed _gently_ before reading it._

Dib picked up the rose, unlocked the door, and headed inside and up the stairs to his room.

Once there, he signed on to AOL.

"You've got mail." Said the computer.

He opened it.

_ShadowHunter333:_

_If you're reading this I'm willing to guess you have the rose. Please read these instructions, if you'd like to keep it._

_Put it in a vase without water, for it has no need to drink._

_Do not feed it, it does not need to eat._

_It does not need to be in the sun, yet it does not need to be out of the sun. Keep it where it likes to be._

_Keep it away from mirrors, for it is saddened to see its red petals now black._

_Its thorns are sharp and might make you bleed. Do not clip them, and do not try to avoid them when lifting it. You have to feel pain for the things you love._

_---_


	6. I'm the monster

Chapter 6: The monster

Dib couldn't say he hadn't found the email odd, but followed it to the letter. He returned to the thrift shop and bought a cheap-but-pretty vase. He put the rose inside, and did not fill it with water nor gave it any plant food. He thought about putting it in the window, but feared it would dry out all day in the sun, especially since he would not water it. After placing it in many different locations around the room, he set it down next to his alarm clock.

Satisfied, he went into the bathroom for a few band-aids.

Dib jumped when he heard a loud pounding on the front door. He listened as Gaz answered.

"Where's Dib?" asked Auri panicked voice.

"Upstairs, I guess." Answered Gaz's

"Can he come down?"

He heard Gaz sigh. "DIB! SOMEONES AT THE DOOR FOR YOU!"

Dib dropped the box of band-aids, forgetting completely to put any on, and ran down the stairs.

"H-hi Auri." He said slowly and nervously when he stepped off the last step. He had never seen her in his home.

Auri seemed near hysteria, but calmed for a second when she saw his hand was bleeding. Then, in her almost-forced panic voice: "Dib! Th-there's something in the woods!"

"What, what's in the woods?"

"A monster. It attacked me!"

"Are you okay?" he asked, giving her a look over.

"Fine." She snapped. "Get your equipment and hurry."

"Right." He turned and ran up the stairs.

Once Dib had his backpack (still full of his vampire hunting things), the pair ran for the woods. They both ran relatively fast, and arrived there in no time. Dib put on a pair of futuristic goggles and scanned the area.

Dib screamed! What felt like hundreds of volts of electricity were zapping through his body from a spot on his back. It stopped and he collapsed.

Auri was standing behind him, holding a smoking tazer. "Silly me, I forgot." She smiled evilly.

"I'm the monster."

---

Dib woke up, having the worst headache of his life. Unable to see past it for a moment, he tried to get up from his sitting position. He couldn't. Dib realized he was tied up, and to the tree behind him.

This was familiar.

A little too familiar.

Was he dreaming again?

_You aren't dreaming._

"Ahh!" Dib shouted in surprise. That thought hadn't been his. He looked up. Auri stood a yard in front of him. This time she was not holding a knife.

"Wh-what's going on?" he said shakily.

"You already know."

_Huh?_

_What, you can't hear words being spoken right to you?_

"Get out of my head!" He stopped. "How are you in my head? What are you!"

"You already know." She repeated.

_Vampire, _he thought instantly.

"Oh, give the man a prize."

"But the-how can you read my mind!" he interrupted himself in mid-thought.

"Vampire, duh."

"Vampires can…? But the garlic…" he couldn't even form a sentence.

"Garlic? You're kidding me, right?" The vampire looked at him. Then she smiled as she pulled some information from his mind. "You really believe…" She laughed and continued to search his mind.

Dib tried to push her out, but his attempts were fruitless.

"The whole deal; coffins, garlic, silver, holy water, sun allergies, bat shape-shifting, and crosses?"

The poor boy was ten percent embarrassed and a hundred percent confused. (Yes, he knows that equals to 110, you try thinking properly when face to face…err, face to kneecap with a vampire.)

"B-but if you…WHAT'S GOING ON!" he demanded of her.

"Must you?" she held her ears. "You're so loud." She grinned at him again. "I guess I can tell you, since you're going to die anyway."

"I'm going to…what?"

"Well, you are, one way or another."

"If you don't tell me the story can I go home?"

"No."

He hung his head in temporary defeat. "Then start please."

Auri sat on the ground, cross-legged. Dib struggled with his rope. _Uncomfortable?_ She asked, though began before waiting for an answer.

"I was sent to get you. And before you ask, yes I could have manipulated your mind, lured you out of your house and drank your blood easily enough, but I find no fun in that. I'd rather use human mind games instead of the ones used by my kind."

"Sent…?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"I'm sure you'll love to hear this: you're a threat to us. You might expose us to the humans. They aren't ready to know. Imagine the chaos, and how much garlic the grocer would sell."

Dib looked up at who he thought had been his friend. "Are you going to kill me now?"

"No."

He prepared himself for her to drink his blood, before her statement sunk in. _No._

"You're not?" he asked carefully.

"Not at this very moment." He cringed.

He watched her as she rose and walked toward him. Dib whimpered and pressed himself against the tree, eyes closed. He waited.

"Stop cowering." She scolded. "I've untied you."

Dib was shocked. Was she letting him go?

"No, I'm not letting you go." She rolled her eyes.

"Then what are you doing?" he couldn't get used to her doing that. And he'd never get a chance to…

"I told you, I don't always hunt exactly as my kind does. I'm going to give you a chance: Run."


	7. You can't run from the inevitable

Chapter 7: You can't run away from the inevitable

This time, he heard loud and clear.

He ran. Again.

Just like his reoccurring nightmare.

He dodged trees and jumped over sticks, fallen branches, and rocks. He had to get home. And do what? He didn't know a vampire's weakness. He thought he had.

Panting, he stopped to rest against a tree. He couldn't breathe properly.

_Who's afraid of the big bad wolf?_

_The big bad wolf,_

_The big bad wolf,_

Dib heard this song in his mind. Why was Auri singing that? Wasn't she a vampire, not a werewolf?

_Wait, _he wondered_, can't vampires shape shift?_

_Who's afraid of the big bad wolf? _Continued the song,

_The big bad wolf,_

_The big bad wolf._

_Who's afraid of the big bad wolf?_

"Certainly not I!" He growled the next line of the song into the air, knowing Auri could hear him.

_WHO'S AFRAID OF THE BIG BAD WOLF?_

_THE BIG BAD WOLF,_

_THE BIG BAD WOLF._

_WHO'S AFRAID OF THE BIG BAD WOLF?_

Everything stayed quiet. Dib was puzzled.

A giant black figure jumped out from a bush in front of him. The wolf that was Auri bared her teeth at the boy. _CERTAINLY YOU SHOULD!_

Dib turned and ran back the way he came. He stopped only a few seconds to rest, and then continued to run out of the woods. He came up to the park and hopped the fence; going through the park would be the fastest way home. He ran as fast as his boots would take him.

A light creaking stopped him in his tracks. He turned to his left, and noticed that not that far away someone was swinging. He realized it was Auri, and she was looking down. Dib blinked.

_Is she…crying?_

Completely shocked, he stood there, unable to think for a second. _A trick. It had to be. B-but she was crying…it was a trick._

_But she's crying._

His common sense lost at that point, and he made his way toward her. His hand, almost out of his control, placed itself on the vampire's shoulder.

Her movement was so swift that at first he had not known what happened. Then everything registered at once. She was holding his arms behind him with one hand and her other hand held his head back with his hair, exposing his neck. He struggled, but she was stronger than she looked.

_Sleep. _He heard the mental order, and then fell into sort of a trance. He knew more than felt her biting his neck and drinking his blood, it seemed so far away. There was no pain. Actually, it felt…good.

_Stop…_he thought faintly. The good feeling was a trick. Just another…

Dib fell into unconsciousness.

---

Dib woke up, but could not see or think. All he knew was that some thick sweet liquid was being forced past his lips and down his throat. Weak, he drank it.

Then fell to the ground.

---

sorry it took so long to come out. The next chapter is the last one, but I wont put it up without a review.


	8. To be reborn, first you have to die

Yay, I got a review!

Chapter 8: To be reborn, first you have to die

Dib woke again. He opened his eyes and looked around.

He was on the ground, in the dirt and grass. His glasses were lying in front of him. He thought to pick them up, but noticed he didn't need to; his vision was perfect.

The fourteen-year-old had such a head-splitting headache he could barely think. He didn't even remember who he was. Yes, his name was Dib. That much came back to him. He also knew the glasses were his, even though he did not even need them.

Another memory tried to surface. It was full of pain and confusion. Dib pushed it away, not wanting it.

He got up to a sitting position. It was night. The swings only a few feet away were swinging in the wind.

_Wind…_

Dib realized he had not taken a breath since he came to, and his body had not told him to. This thought was so startling that he took in a sharp breath. It hurt his lungs. He choked on the air, causing more but less painful pain. Finally gathering enough air, he deciding to see if anyone was within earshot.

"Hello?" He called.

"You're finally awake."

Though hoping for an answer, he still jumped. He got to his feet and spun toward the voice.

_Auri_. He thought at once, not sure why. He knew the girl's name who stood there, but not who she was or how he knew her.

"Wh-who are you?" As an after thought, he added, "Err, who am I?"

"Don't worry." She sighed, "Your memory will come back later. Right now you have to feed."

"Feed?" he asked slowly. Something clicked. "You're a vampire!"

"Come on, we already did this." She told him, bored.

"We did?"

"You need to feed."

"Me?…I'm a… you turned me into a vampire!"

"Yes, and if you don't feed soon, the blood I've given you will kill you."

"That means killing someone."

"Maybe."

"I'm not doing that."

Her hand closed over his wrist tightly "Yes. You. Are."

Dib felt her turn them both into energy, and then transport them to another area; a woods, and only a foot away was a tent. Inside two campers were sleeping.

"I'm not killing." Dib broke away. "I…I killed before. I think. It was horrible."

"Don't worry; it gets easy after a while."

He stared at her, not believing. He watched as she went over to the tent and went inside. He waited, too helpless to run away. Would he really die without feeding? She came out holding up two men in their thirties. She laid one down and began to feed off the other.

"Stop!" Dib growled.

She did, to his surprise. Then, in even more surprising move, she threw him to Dib.

His eyes fell to the man's bleeding neck. Without thinking, he drank. And drank. And drank.

And when the man's juices ran dry, he screamed.

He dropped the camper and backed away, his face full of horror. What had he done!

"You'll be okay for now. You memories will return soon. Go home," She paused. "You remember where your home is, yes?"

Dib nodded, barely listening. "Yes, but not from here. Can you take me back to my town?"

---

Dib walked into his room. No one said anything to him as he passed them. No "where were you last night" of any form. He didn't care.

He sat on his bed, reliving last night; his memory back 12fold. He absently glanced at the walls. His eyes were stuck on the black rose. He made up his mind.

There was no place for him here. Not with the humans.

He got up and stretched.

The vampire remembered that Auri had morphed wolf. Vampires were known for their ability to transform into bats; did this mean they could turn into any animal?

Dib stood on his bed and concentrated.

His hair became feathers, his arms became wings. His coat disappeared as he turned more and more into the creature. His legs and feet became like a chicken's. His coat tail turned into tail feathers.

On Dib's bed stood a raven.

Dib hopped from his bed and landed on his nightstand. Carefully, he lifted the black rose from its vase. He turned to the open window and flew out.

Following the scent of Auri's aura.

THE END


End file.
